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October 2015

How TV ads are shaping Nov 2's election

Voters head to the polls Nov 3 to decide major races in several states, while Louisiana gears up for its runoff election on Nov 21 to determine its next governor and several other top offices. Though overshadowed by the 2016 presidential contest, these state elections have generated thousands of television ads worth millions of dollars. Who voters choose to represent them will have important consequences for Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. And voters will use ballot measures to decide important policy issues ranging from marijuana legalization in Ohio to campaign finance reform in Maine.

More than $67 million has been spent to air TV ads about the 2015 elections for state candidates and ballot measures. The open Louisiana and Kentucky gubernatorial races to replace term-limited governors have been the most expensive contests: Kentucky’s race spawned more than $14 million in spending, while Louisiana has seen more than $11 million in gubernatorial ads.

A confidential arm of Congress clarifies its mandate: Secrecy

Members of Congress who are seeking answers to public policy questions from environmental protection to immigration have at their disposal a respected in-house think tank that’s served up in-depth analysis for the House and Senate since 1914. But now the Congressional Research Service’s unusual mandate for secrecy is under attack from advocates for open government, who want much of its research to be made available to the public.

CRS, as it’s known, employs more than 400 analysts who are experts in their fields, “providing Congress with the vital analytical support it needs to address the most complex public policy issues facing the nation,” its Web site says. But this support, at a cost of $100 million a year to taxpayers, is confidential. The research is never made public unless a member of Congress releases it, to allow lawmakers to pursue potentially controversial issues without fear of political pushback. The reports are published on a site, CRS.gov, which is not publicly accessible. This confidentiality -- underscored in a new internal memo sent to CRS staff instructing them to be more secretive -- is being targeted by a coalition of librarians, open-government advocates and advocates against wasteful spending, who are pressing for an end to what they call excessive secrecy in Congress’s research arm.

Public Citizen: Keep Net Neutrality Rider Off Budget Bill

Now that there is a budget bill framework, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, budget committees in both the House and Senate will need to rewrite their respective appropriations bills to add to that framework. But those bills are loaded with riders, including one on the Federal Communications Commission appropriation that would invalidate the FCC's Title II-based network neutrality rules. Public Citizen, for one, is advising a no-rider policy for the budget bill, and singled out that rider for special mention.

Saying "inappropriate policy riders" have been attached by the hundreds, it lists six, including one that would "roll back strong net neutrality rules and prevent the US Federal Communications Commission from enforcing rules that ensure Internet openness and affordability," Public Citizen said.

Technology Device Ownership: 2015

Today, 68 percent of US adults have a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center. Smartphone ownership is nearing the saturation point with some groups: 86 percent of those ages 18-29 have a smartphone, as do 83 percent of those ages 30-49 and 87 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 and up annually. At the same time, the surveys suggest the adoption of some digital devices has slowed and even declined in recent years. Some of the other findings:

  • Computers are the next-most popular device among those measured. Some 73 percent of U.S. adults own a desktop or laptop computer, a figure that is similar to the 71 percent of those who owned a computer or laptop in 2004 and down somewhat from a high of 80 percent in 2012.
  • Some 40 percent of adults report having a game console, a number that has not budged in five years.
  • About a fifth (19 percent) have e-book readers, a drop from 32 percent who said they owned one in early 2014.

T-Mobile may let you stream Netflix and HBO without using up your data plan

Apparently, the next big perk for T-Mobile customers will allow them to stream video from apps like Netflix and HBO without having it count against their data plan. The company's "Music Freedom" already does this for popular music services like Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Soundcloud. So it wouldn't be surprising to see T-Mobile call this "Video Freedom" at its Uncarrier X event scheduled for November 10th.

HBO and Netflix are the only services mentioned, so it'll be interesting to see just how far T-Mobile goes and whether other major video sources like YouTube, Hulu, and Vevo will be included. If so, you start to wonder exactly how or even if the company's customers will ever burn through an entire month's worth of data again. What's left at this point, aside from regular old web browsing and e-mail? It's unlikely you'll see many T-Mobile subscribers complaining, but Video Freedom would stir the same complaints about T-Mobile's complete disregard for net neutrality that surfaced when Music Freedom was announced.

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